In March 2023, Tristan Driessens released his first solo album Lahza (A Glimpse), presenting a series of improvisations played on the oud. The album was published by the Iranian label Mahoor Institute of Culture and Arts and reveals a different side of Tristan Driessens as an oud player. Whereas he has emerged over the past decade as a prolific creator and artistic director of several large line-ups, ‘A Glimpse’ marks a new direction only accompanied by his faithful oud. With a multi-facetted concert program consisting of modal improvisations, classical works as well as his own compositions, Tristan Driessens reflects on the many routes he has travelled since his childhood, from his first encounter with the oud through Sufism and Andalusian music up to his journey to the centers of makam and other Eastern music traditions – Crete, Istanbul, Bagdad and Samarkand – where the great masters transmit their legacies.
Biography
Belgian born oud player and composer Tristan Driessens (1982) holds a master’s degree in Musicology (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and another master’s degree in Turkish ‘ûd (Lemmens Institute, Leuven) both of which he earned with High Distinction. He studied Classical Ottoman music and oud in Istanbul, under the supervision of Necati Çelik.
Over the past ten years, he worked successfully as an oud player and artistic director in a series of large line-ups, including the Lâmekân Ensemble, Refugees for Refugees, Soolmaan and Toasaves. For his discography, he has been given several major European awards, such as Charles Cros (France), Deutsche Schallplattenkritik (Germany), Transglobal World Music Charts “Album of the Year” and Space of Mugham (Azerbaijan).
Although specialized in classical Ottoman music, Tristan Driessens increasingly opens his musical horizon to cross-cultural elements which include Mediaeval, classical, and Persian music.
2023 Concert dates Tristan Driessens
06/08 Festivalito Into This Wood, Gros-Fays, BE
10/09 Concertgebouw Brugge, Brugge, BE
16/09 Rosario, Bever, BE
17/09 Chez Djamila, Lasne, BE
22/09 Klangkeller, Bern, CH
22/10 Bruggenhuis, Geraardsbergen, BE
25/02 De 9 muzen, Brugge, BE
